My celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday was especially commemorative this year. I spent the weekend in Washington, DC and had the pleasure of touring the White House, the Capitol, the Frederick Douglass house, hearing Reverend Jeremiah Wright preach his annual sermon at my alma mater Howard University, paying homage at the MLK memorial, taking in afrocentric art and portrait exhibits, playing tour guide and enjoying camaraderie and fellowship with a few very special friends, old and new. It was a wonderful weekend indeed!
The real story however that makes it such a phenomenal weekend is how the weekend came to be… I have a very special friend who I affectionately call ‘Uncle Tommie’. Uncle Tommie is 82 years old and uncle to a dear friend whose entire family is now my family. He and his sister, Ms Terlina, 95, are native Mississippians who share my passion for politics, civil rights, race relations and anything Obama. We take much pride in our President and his family. We speak regularly on these and other matters. Always our exchanges are engaging, insightful and always I am guaranteed to learn something new. Having lived in pre-civil rights Mississippi, both have a wealth of knowledge and life experiences to share and I delight in being benefactor of their wisdom and appreciate the generosity of their thoughts. Thank you Uncle Tommie and Ms Terlina…
Some months ago following my visit to DC for President Obama’s official dedication of the MLK memorial, Uncle Tommie and I had one of our regular conversations. Of course he is proud and wants very much to see the monument. However, during our conversation he also mentioned that he especially wanted to see the White House while we have a Black President. It is understandable that a man of 82 from Mississippi never thought he would see such an event in his lifetime. He and his sister are so very proud and like so many from their generation, never thought they would see a Black President leading our nation, a holiday in celebration of Dr. King’s birthday and now a beautiful monument erected on the national mall in his honor. They call it progress…
Although I am no where near as focused or driven, and certainly I do not compare myself, but like Dr. King and President Obama, I too enjoy the occasional dream (smile). I am especially charged when I do focus and manage to make stuff happen! I LOVE seeing folks happy and doing my part to bring joy and make dreams come true. So even though we have a solid five more years of an Obama Presidency, immediately following my conversation with Uncle Tommie, I reached out to his sons, Eric and Vincent, to solicit their support in making real their Father’s current dream to visit DC.
I chose MLK weekend for our trek because I thought timing of the holiday was perfect to honor Uncle Tommie’s twofold desire to pay homage and respect to fulfillment of the dreams of Dr. King and President Obama. We would tour the White House and visit the MLK memorial in their honor. What started out as a simple trip to DC for five people however, quickly evolved into a weekend excursion filled with sightseeing and afrocentric events for 39 people! Our group of invitees ranged in age from 9 to 95 and spanned geographically from Binghamton, NY to San Francisco, CA. Sadly my dear cousin Loretta Crawford, 87, passed away in November before we could make the trip. As the nature of our gathering was prompted by an elder in celebration of Black history, it was important that our group reflect a broad span of the generations.
Eric and I both contacted our respective elected officials, Congressman Hinchey (NY) and Senator Menendez (NJ). Amazingly both offices secured approvals for our request to tour the White House and the Capitol. We decided to take the tour on Friday, January 13th. Although on the eve of our visit, as “luck” would have it on Friday the 13th, our tour time was changed from 10am to 7am requiring that we rise at some ungodly hour to ensure arrival at the White House by 6:30am. In keeping with the spirit of superstition, we had a few expected casualties and lost some members from our group; a few had scheduling conflicts, one became ill, one arrived but then had a tragic slip and fall and a few others were just simply discouraged by an early morning journey. Ultimately 24 people showed up to take part in the White House tour. Our ‘misfortune’ of schedule change however, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The conflict resulted in our getting guided tours filled with historical fact and presidential anecdotes as opposed to taking self guided tours walking through the White House and assuming the significance of things… While seeing the President and/or the First Lady would have been PHENOMENAL, our visit to the White House was Great!!!
Following our White House tour and a quick snack at Old Ebbitt Grill Express Café, a few locals departed to report for work but the rest hopped on the Metro and proceeded to the US Capitol. Did I mention that it was bone chilling cold and windy and that we had a few blocks to walk on each end? As we were still on a high’ from our White House visit, no one seemed to notice. That is until after lunch when the effects of a long drive for some, 5am or earlier wake up for others and “itus” (a losing battle with sleepiness following consumption of a very heavy meal) for many, began to set in. Upon departure from the Capitol, our group greatly reduced in size and taxis replaced the touristy thrill of traveling by Metro.
We toured the Capitol and then gathered in the cafeteria for lunch and fellowship. As we did not all know one another, we laughed, got acquainted, shared highlights of our tours and talked about how our trip and our group had come to be. There was some rumbling about our “bossy” tour guide, who bore a striking resemblance to me… Hmm, imagine that! Surely her intentions were good. Forgive her… (smile)
Over lunch we discovered that we had history in the making amongst us and we learned what an entomologist is. Kaleela Thompson is a 12 year old girl from Hampton, VA who is already a published author. She KNOWS where she will go to college and she KNOWS that when she grows up she will be an entomologist! Her confidence and determination was inspiring and delightfully symbolic of the historic purpose of our visit. As we gathered in honor of the dreams of elders such as Uncle Tommie and Ms Terlina, and in celebration of the realization of the dreams of Martin Luther King and President Obama, Kaleela and the other youth who traveled with us represented the promise of our future, the realization of our history, our struggles and were gifts to our present. Their presence was absolutely refreshing!
For those who will not admit that they do not know, per Webster, an entomologist is a zoologist who focuses specifically on the study of insects. Come on now, some of you didn’t know that... Not to worry, your secret is safe with you… (smile) Kaleela’s motto is appropriately “Learning is Growing in the Garden”. She has been fascinated with insects since she was four. Her book is entitled Oh Where, Oh Where is My Swallowtail? Google Kaleela and please buy her book in support of her dream and use it to inspire other children to realize their similar potential and to encourage that they too dare to dream…
OK so we lost a few more from our group before heading across town to tour the Frederick Douglass house. A group that began with 24 at the White House and reduced to 20 touring the Capitol was now greatly reduced in size to eight who were going to tour the Frederick Douglass house! The others took this tour on subsequent days during our MLK/Black History weekend. For those of us who visited the Frederick Douglass house on Friday, we lucked out again. We could not have asked for a better tour guide. Jasmine Armstrong, a Park Ranger who hails from Denver, was a real gem! She was passionate about her job, knowledgeable and proud of the subject matter and gave one of the best and most informative tours I have ever had at the Frederick Douglass house. Thank you Jasmine…
Following our last planned tour of the day, we divided even further. Our family of four was off to see the MLK memorial while the remaining of us headed to the waterfront where we enjoyed the view of a beautiful sunset over a scrumptious seafood dinner, great service and wonderful ambience at the Channel Inn restaurant before calling it a night. It was the end of a really long day and we were good and tired! I should note that on Thursday, preceding our White House tour, some of us visited and photographed the White House and the MLK memorial by night. It was an unusually warm “winter” night of about 60 degrees. We cherished the anomaly of the January weather and appreciated the warmth of the night as a tease before the pending freeze that was forecasted to greet us on the following morning…
On Saturday, yet another combination of our group formed. While some toured the Frederick Douglass House, seven of us gathered to take in the exhibits and have lunch. We met at the Corcoran Gallery to see “30 Americans”, an interesting and rather expressive art exhibit featuring works from 30 different Black artists. We meticulously critiqued the displays, each of us arriving at a distinct interpretation, and then we proceeded across town to have lunch at Eatonville, a delightful and soulful restaurant dedicated to the theme and birthplace of renown Harlem Renaissance writer, Zora Neal Hurston. Most had some combination of catfish, greens, cornbread, mac and cheese and/or shrimp and grits. Everyone loved her lunch and again the opportunity to commune with new and old friends.
Amongst us were two San Franciscans and die hard 49er fans. Had that “bossy” tour guide not dropped them back at the hotel so that they could watch the football game, descriptions of her would have become less kind and much too descriptive to print in this friendly forum… So needless to say, the dutiful tour guide deposited these two ladies and their sleepy companion, who again was plagued by the effects of “itus”, safely back at the hotel to nap and/or to watch the game, which by the way, much to their "champagne" delight, the 49ers won. The remaining four of us continued on to the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery where we viewed the next exhibit, “The Black List”, which featured portraits in celebration of 53 noted public figures in the Black community. This was our favorite of the two exhibits. We had a good time and ended another long day on a good note.
Sunday was the treat of all treats! I got to show off my alma mater, Howard University, THEE premier historically Black university (smile). We were riveted in song by university choirs, inspired by prayer from Dean Richardson and others and encouraged in sermon by one of Howard’s favorite sons, Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Wright. Preaching and worshiping at Howard is in such demand that we have outgrown the capacity of our historic chapel. We now meet on Sundays in Cramton Auditorium with seating for 1500, which is not inclusive of the abundance of people assembled on stage and responsible for delivery of the service.
Whenever Reverend Wright preaches, which is always on the Sunday preceding observance of the MLK holiday, the place is guaranteed to be filled to the rafters. Arrangements for overflow seating equipped with big screen television monitors are required to accommodate the large crowd that will not all fit into the auditorium. This Sunday was no exception! Folks showed up in mass to hear Reverend Wright preach. I am happy to report that most from the original group made their way to Howard to hear Reverend Wright preach, some for the very first time. As is often the case, all were inspired and moved not only by his word but also by his patience as he waited and received each who wanted to grab a hug, share a kind word, shake his hand or pose with him for a photo, as did our visitors from California. It was a wonderful and absolutely fulfilling morning. No one was disappointed…
Our long weekend was now coming to an end. We said our goodbyes to those who had to begin their journey home while the remaining eight of us proceeded to Union Station to conclude our MLK/Black History celebration. We enjoyed a continuous flow of mimosas, soulful food, good service and more spirited conversation over brunch at B. Smith’s, an upscale and well known Black owned restaurant located in beautiful Union Station. We laughed, took photos, promised to get together again and just had an overall good time! Before finally retiring for the evening, some again visited the MLK memorial. The view by day is much different than that by night. We wanted to have both experiences…
By Monday, the actual day of observance of Dr. King’s birthday, our celebration had pretty much concluded. Our Californians had another day on their own and the rest of us had to get begin our treks back home. As I was driving I called Uncle Tommie. I wanted to thank him. As it turned out, just before our trip to Washington, DC, the city experienced a cold snap. Although only for a brief spell, the bone chilling weather lasted long enough to snap Uncle Tommie back to reality! It served as a vivid reminder of why he still lives in the south. There is NO WINTER… Uncle Tommie exerted his well deserved right at 82' to do what ever he pleases. He chose to defer realization of his dream until Spring! (smile). We respected that...
So while Uncle Tommie did not physically join us to celebrate his dream of honoring Dr. King and President Obama, certainly he was with us in spirit. It was my pleasure to share with others the fruits of my many phone conversations with Uncle Tommie and his sister Ms Terlina. During our weekend celebration we were all benefactors of their spirit, their wisdom, their will, and their generosity of thought... After all, it was Uncle Tommie’s dream that sparked the vision that brought us together for a beautiful and most successful weekend. We reveled in good company, celebrated Black history and paid honor to the dreams of Dr. King and President Obama. And although we missed you Uncle Tommie, for your dream, we are forever thankful and eternally grateful. We now have wonderful memories and an MLK/Black History celebration to be treasured...
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